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May 11, 2011

A bit late in sharing this, but I did a guest post over at Grosgrain to celebrate Kathleen’s coming patterns. For a whole month, she has a whole bunch of tutorials and patterns from talented people from all over the blogosphere. I am honored that she has asked me to be one of them.

So for you (and her readers), I made this tutorial of a fun little hideaway (see guest post here) for your little ones or maybe for you. I am sure after you make this and call your kids over to show them, they will be over the moon and will be thanking you like crazy!

Drawn pattern for reference:

Materials for the A-frame:

4- 1” x 2” x 48” whitewood moulding

1- 3/4” x 48” poplar dowel

drill with a 3/4” spade bit

measuring tape

pencil (marker)

(I was going to use the twine to make sure the mouldings stayed in place, but I no longer needed to because the hole already had such a tight grip on the dowel).

1. From the top of each of the 4 mouldings, measure and mark 6” down with your pencil.

2. With your drill and 3/4” spade bit, drill a hole at your mark. Try to center the hole on your moulding.

3. Place 2 mouldings on top of each other, make sure the holes are lined up.

4. Push dowel through the holes of the two mouldings. The hole should have a pretty tight grip and keep the dowel in place.

5. Repeat step 4 and put together the other side with the two remaining mouldings.

This tent can easily be taken apart and stored, since there are no screws or nails involved. In addition, the tent cover is easy enough to recreate in different patterns. The sizing is similar to a twin bed sheet, so if you get one of those to use (I used a vintage twin sheet), the project just got a whole lot easier!

It is a great place for reading, napping, and pretending, but most importantly making memories! I am already thinking this will be my go-to birthday gift as I am sure this would be loved very much. Don’t you think?!!

Thank you Kathleen for allowing me to take part in your celebration! Make sure you all stop by her blog and see all the new patterns/tutorials popping up daily. I love making little things for my girls to play in and now I am already thinking of another one! There is no such thing as too many hideouts for a little kid!

This is amazing!!! I am totally making one! I also am VERY curious where you got that amazing coffee table? Or did you make it? Where did you get the casters?? I've been wanting to make one FOREVER but have been wanting large casters. Let me know if you can…I'd appreciate it!! Great job on the tent!!!!

First time reading your blog – found you when voting on the 25 top style blogs. The a-frame tent is gorgeous! Definitely need to make one for my little girl.. Look forward to continuing to read your blog xx

Oh thank you so much for this! I've been trying to figure out how to make a simple children's photobooth at home, without nails & screws and one that can be set up and taken down easily! I'm sure with a few tweaks & a polaroid camera your tent can be transformed into a brilliant home made photobooth 🙂 Love love love your blog!

Super cute tent!! I just read your last post also about homeschooling. My daughter is in K right now and I am thinking about homeschooling next year . I'm a little nervous about getting started. Homeschooling is not what I want to do, but I am realizing that this is what is best for my kids. I know I will be able to do it with God's help. Nice to know there are other mom's just getting started.

kelsey- the coffee table is vintage piece that we picked up at the flea market. i think it used to be attached to some sort of train or something, but i am sure you could recreate something similar using old wood and casters. The table is quite heavy and heavy duty and the wheels are cast iron, so my parents freak out every time they see it, but we absolutely love it!

i am glad you all like the tutorial. i already can't wait for the next kid birthday party to make this and give as a gift!

I love this! I sent it to my brothers because it reminded me of the hours we spent playing under my Mom's quilting frames that she would set up in the living room. this is such a fun summer project I can't wait to try it!

Oh my goodness!! Thankyou for sharing this! So simple – so effective! I just showed my daughter and she said “that is just what I have always dreamed of!” looks like we'll be making one this weekend! 🙂

just made this…have to put it all together yet..i added pockets to the inside for treasures or books…kristin- i used a fitted twin sheet but found there was not enough fabric…(meant to grab a flat but accidentally bought a fitted)…i ripped out the corner seams and then used as much material as i could but had to add about 15+1/2 inches of another fabric to it so it was wide enough…would definately use a flat sheet if it was available…it was pretty time consuming to have to measure and add the extra…anyways..hope this helps a bit?THANKS FOR THE TUTORIAL!!! LOVE IT! 🙂-heather

YEAY! This is adorable!! Tents bring back so many great memories! This is just too cut not to Pin!! If you don't have a Pinterest account..there is a link on my page. I just found your blog through another blog and I am so glad I did!

Having no dependents yet, I focus on high savings to cover any emergency and not be a burden for my family should I pass. I think there is a death coverage for funeral and repatriation on my credit card. If I have kids I am hoping my assets will generate enough passive income not to need insurance, but will probably go for it while they are young.

I am preparing a safari/jungle theme for my grade 4 class this year and was looking for a safari style play tent. I only saw 1 but it was waaaaaaaay too expensive. I love your idea! It's easy, quick, inexpensive, and safe and even I can do it. I am buying some animal print fabric this weekend and making 2 for the class for silent reading time. They'll love them! Keep up the good work. I'll be at your site often now that I've found you.Marlene

Thank you so much for this tutorial! Made it yesterday (only the second time I've sewn anything) and it turned out awesome! What a fun tent for my daughter, and a great way to practice my sewing skills! : )

I just want to say thank you for making these because these are going to make 3 little girls some very great Christmas presents. Also I just found some really cute material at walmart that has two different patterns of 2 yards each for $8.00. I bought two packages of each kind for the tents and I will just be sewing the two like fabrics from each package together lengthwise to make the one big panel for the tents. Then I will use the other fabric for either another tent cover so they can change them out or make a pillow and blanket to go with it.

Hello! Just made this to fit over my 18 mo. old son's bed (which is really a twin mattress on the floor). Followed your instructions pretty closely, but added binding to the edge of my fabric for a more finished look and also used several ribbon ties down the sides to prevent sagging. Here's the finished product:

So I bought the wood and dowls and spade bit. But the when I put the dowel through it is just enough loose that the wood legs slide down to the ground… I want to make this for my 4 boys for Christmas next week but I'm not sure how to solve this problem… please helpMayka

I used a twin flat sheet, so I sized the whole thing up. Since the dowel rods only appear to exist in 48″ lengths, I ended up using 1/2″ PVC piping (that electricians use for running wire) which I could easily cut to the 74″ I needed. I did have to get a pair of PVC cutters but they were $12 and I adapted the spade bit to be 7/8″ instead. I love it – thanks for the idea!

I Love this tent, thank you so much for the tutorial. I made mine from a set of vintage Laura Ashley curtains and used a broom handle for the ridge pole. You can see it here http://yearinthrift.blogspot.com/2012/02/play-tent.html my children love it, i think i love it more! Thank you!

To keep the legs from sliding the tent flat, I'm thinking of trying rubber cement glue, no-slip carpet lining, or maybe a piece of rubber matting for furniture legs. I love this tent craft! Reminds me of all the temporary tents my sister and I made when Dad would trim the mimosa trees back.

You've inspired me! Made this tent for my daughters and they just love it. The first word that came out when my eldest one saw it was “WOW”. It just made my day. I use strings to secure the legs and dowel as my daughter loves to shake it. I've linked your instruction on my blog. Here is a sneak peak of our version: http://neischoice.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/tent-girls-lil-chilling-place.html

Thank you for this fun project! My boys LOVE their new tent!! The only thing I did differently was secure the dowels in the holes so that they don’t knock it down in three seconds (yay boys)! As a result, I can’t take it ALL apart but neither can the kids! It still folds, though 🙂

You actually make it appear really easy together with your presentation but I find this topic to be really
one thing that I feel I would never understand. It sort of feels too complicated
and extremely huge for me. I’m looking forward to your next publish, I will
try to get the hang of it!

This is so neat! What kid wouldn’t LOVE one of these?!? I’m putting together a roundup post of DIY Christmas gifts and wondered if you’d mind me including a picture from your post with a link to your article. Thanks!

Hello! I made your tent some time ago and the kids love it! Thank you! It does slip though, even on a rug and I wonder what might be the best solution? I bought two more dowels for the sides at the bottom thinking I could drill holes at the bottom but I’m just not sure and would love some advice…!

What a great project! Our children learned a lot from this. We went to a fabric store in our neighborhood and they got to pick their very own pattern! Their grandmother hemmed the edges with her old Singer! We even added fairy to the top portion! Thank you.

I love this tent. It’s beautiful and perfect for a day out reading somewhere where there is peace and quiet with minimal noises, or for my kids to have their imaginary world lol. It feels like they’re on a real camping trips (http://outdoorfact.com)

My kids really love tent camping. They’ve been on camping trips with me several times and really enjoyed those trips. They will love this tent very much. I will try to make them one for their reading and playing space.

That’s an awesome idea! How about adding a (few) strings to the dowel in the middle so you could hang up something like a little flashlight! (especially when using darker fabric) Kids would love that..